Saturday, December 31, 2005

2006 approaches!CRAZY!!Each year post-2000 sounds more and more Sci-Fi.I have to say, I'm a bit disappointed it's 2006 and we don't have rayguns or flying cars.Yet another childhood hope smashed. hahaha

Wednesday, December 28, 2005

Again, this is a bit late... we saw Peter Jackson's KING KONG last week, and here are my thoughts:

Firstly, KONG looked great! Once again, like with Gollum, WETA/Serkis/Jackson did a fine job of bringing a CG character to life. His expressions, sounds, movements and look was very convincing. I also liked all the many scars over Kong's body - he's a brauler! However, I miss the fantastical element of Kong the previous 2 versions had - this Kong is pretty much just a big gorilla, grounded more in Reality... its a personal preference.

The first HOUR of the movie needed to be dropped. I'm assuming Jackson wanted to stay true to the "feel" of the original (ie 1933 filmmaking and dialogue), which I feel he failed at. It comes across as bad acting and filmmaking and quite painful - I actually considered leaving the theater and go play video games or something in the lobby, then return at the 2nd hour when they finally arrive at Skull Island. Unfortunately, I didn't, and sat through an embarassing and boring hour of drivel.

The second hour is much better (and IMO the best part) where they finally arrive at the island. But again, its filled with moments of dreadful "what the fuck?" moments of dialogue. The "relationship" between the big black dude and "Jimmy".... er, whuh? Forced, akward and lame. The dinosaur stampede scene is kinda cool, but I've seen it already in the Jurassic Park films... only done better fx-wise (sorry, Weta). Plus, I could live the rest of my life without seeing another Raptor and be happy. The "Spider Scene" (the insects attack scene) is cool, but waaaay too long, as is many of the action sequences in the film.

The scenes with KONG are very enjoyable. Like I said, he's very believable and its fun to watch him - kind of like watching silverback gorillas on the Nature Channel. I liked the relationship between him and Ann and it felt natural and organic. The battle with the V-Rex was awesome, but again, way too long. Less is more, ya know?

The third and last hour is in NYC. Honestly, at this point in the film I was just waiting for the movie to end. Kong wrecking havoc in the theater is awesome, but his "rampage" in the streets becomes repetitive and tiresome. "Hey look! He's throwing cars...again." Also, why did Jackson cut the classic scene where Kong attacks the subway? He had him attack the trolly, but its just not the same. Oh well.

The final classic scene atop the Empire State Building was disappointing. The planes looked lame (the animation) and the filmmaking itself downshifted. What should be an amazing, emotional scene becomes stagnant and it feels like the film is on autopilot. Sure, when Kong leaps up and hits the plane its awesome, but that's about it. Perhaps Jackson didn't want it to be "ACTION ACTION ACTION!!!!" which is fine... it is supposed to be more of a sad, tragic moment. But I didn't feel that either. I kept waiting for the tears to flow, but they never did. Its not without emotion, though, don't get me wrong. The ending is emotional and that's due to Naomi Watts' performance (which is wonderful throughout!!!). And while I appreciate Jackson staying true to the original ending line of dialogue, it just doesn't work here... perhaps due to Black's performance or whatever - it just comes across as absolute sillyness.

There's so much more I could go into, but this is already too long of a post (did anyone actually read the entire thing??). Overall, the film is fun and cool, but almost half of it is fat that needs to be trimmed. The original is still the best in my opinion, with this one in 2nd place (which doesn't say much since the 1976 version is so terrible). Definitely worth seeing in the theater, but in the end a disappointment for Peter Jackson.

I give this movie 3-1/4 lil Jimmys out of 5

Click here for my review of the Original 1933 King Kong.Click here for my review of the 1976 remake King Kong.

Tuesday, December 27, 2005

This is about a week late, but I'm no longer in front of a computer everyday during the holidays (expect more late news in the coming weeks, heh)

The 7 films for the Bakeoff* have been named:

KING KONGBATMAN BEGINSCHARLIE ANDTHE CHOCOLATE FACTORYHARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRETHE CHRONICLES OF NARNIASTAR WARS:EPISODE IIIWAR OF THE WORLDS

Unfortunately, STEALTH didn't make it. Oh well. I pretty much anticipated that anyway what with the stiff competition this year.

My vote is for War of the Worlds/Harry Potter.... or King Kong, soley for Kong himself.------------------------------------------------------------------*The Bakeoff: Every year, 7 films are considered for Oscar nomination in Visual Effects. Then, in february(?), those members of the Academy who are IN visual fx, and anyone who would like to attend, go to "the Bakeoff", where each fx crew from each movie pre-nominated presents a 15minute reel of their best work from the movie, followed by Q&A. At the end of the evening, the visual fx academy members then vote for the 3 films that will actually be nominated.

Sunday, December 25, 2005

Tuesday, December 20, 2005

Well, we were able to catch the train into Grand Central, but the Subways were out of commish so we had to foot it all over the city Today - which sucked. Jimmy's dogs are a-barkin!!!

They closed off all the subway stations and were limiting the amount of people flow into the main hubs where those trains were still running, like GC and Penn Station. Going into the city at the off peak time was ok...coming back tonight at 8pm was mayhem!!!! Images of 28Days Later and Dawn of the Dead kept creeping into my mind.Anway, we dodged the Transit Strike Friday-Monday atleast, so it could have been worse. What a great 1st Time visit to NYC!!!!!

More later sometime... now I must saw off my feet and have a stiff drink.

"Between the time when the oceans drank Atlantis, and the rise of the sons of Aryas, there was an age undreamed of. And onto this, Conan, destined to wear the jeweled crown of Aquilonia upon a troubled brow. It is I, his chronicler, who alone can tell thee of his saga. Let me tell you of the days of high adventure! ! . . . . . . . "". . . . Many wars and feuds did Conan fight. Honor and fear were heaped upon his name and, in time, he became a king by his own hand... And this story shall also be told. . . ."

Oh man!!! Ok, Fox still hasn't officially cancelled Arrested Development, thereby confirming once again they know dick about programming. But, if and when they do can the show, both ABC and Showtime have stated they want to pick the show up!!Sweet!!! Although, I'd prefer it to beHBO, since I already pay for that and have no interest in any of the other Showtime programs. And if it was on ABC, I don't see it surviving. But hey, beggers and choosers....

If you're not a fan of the show, then you haven't watched it.Go rent the first season - its best when watched in seasonal groupings. The show is BRILLIANT!!!

Bob Dylan is going to have his own radio program on XM Satellite Radio next march!It's going to be an hour-long show with a mix of music selected by Dylan, as well as commentary and interviews by him. It'll be on XM's deep album rock channel "Deep Tracks"- XM channel 40.

"Songs and music have always inspired me," Dylan, 64, said in a statement. "A lot of my own songs have been played on the radio, but this is the first time I've ever been on the other side of the mic. It'll be as exciting for me as it is for XM."

The show will take place in a combination of home and hotel rooms and buses as he is always on Tour, so the show won't be him in a stuffy radio studio - instead he'll be in his element.

Click here to watch some crazy urban acrobat action!Now THIS is what superhero movies should have!

(its long and starts off slow.... you can skip to midway if you want - and audio isn't needed)

Batman and Robin do this kind of stuff nightly - lose the wires, lose the gadgets to manuever around - no, the characters are extremely atheletic and have mad acrobatic skills - especially Robin (Dick Grayson). Can you imagine seeing stuff like this in a Batman movie? Or Spidey?!! EVERYTHING doesn't have to be CG or Wire Work, people.

Well, it's looking like Philip Seymour Hoffman is going to be The Penguin in the next Batman movie!! Personally, I think Hoffman is a brilliant actor and one of the top current talents - every role and performance he does is wonderful!

I really enjoyed Batman Begins... it wasn't perfect or the Bat-movie I WANTED to see, but the more I watch it, the more I like it for what it is. This sequel is by the same gang that did the first one, so I'm stoked!

However, are they really going to use Penguin again for a 2nd Bat-Installment? Weird.

Sweet! And perfect timing as I'll be in NY this weekend!The Museum of Modern Art in New York has a new exhibition this week called Pixar: 20 Years of Animation.

Featuring over 500 works of original art on loan for the first time from Pixar Animation Studios, the show includes paintings, concept art, sculptures, and an array of digital installations. The exhibition also includes a complete retrospective of Pixar films. Demonstrating the symbiotic relationship between traditional and digital media pioneered by the studio over its twenty-year history.

The curator of the show said, "We wanted to make sure that people understood that computer animation wasn't created by pushing a button. The preparation work is done with traditional pencil and paper just like animation has always been done."

In a nutshell, in 1929 a group of historians found a map drawn on gazelle skin - later proved to have been originally drawn in 1513 by Piri Reis, a famous admiral of the Turkish fleet in the 16th Century. He compiled the data for the map from a large number of source maps, some dated 4th Century BC or earlier.

The Piri Reis map shows the western coast of Africa, the eastern coast of South America, and the northern coast of Antarctica. The northern coastline of Antarctica is perfectly detailed.

Now, beyond the fact that Piri Reis somehow drew a very accurate map of the Antarctic region 300 years before it was discovered, the map also shows the coastline under the ice. Geological evidence confirms that the latest date this land could have been charted in an ice-free state is 4000BC!!! Why is that with explanation marks? Well, according to traditional history, the first civilization developed in the mid-east around the year 3000 BCWhat does this mean? Well, if brings up very interesting questions:

* Who mapped the Queen Maud Land of Antarctic 6000 years ago?* Which unknown civilization had the technology or the need to do that... to be able to do things that NOW are possible with the modern technologies?

Read more here !---------------------------------------------------------------* See?! I'm not just about Star Wars and things of Geek!

You know what's HOT on a chick? No, no - piercing is soo yesterday. What's hot is some brass knuckles surgically implanted under the skin on the chest. Yeesh! Hey, I'm all for piercings and tattooing... but brass knuckles? Please.

It's a little known fact that there was almost a 90s saturday morning cartoon based on ALIENS, entitled "OPERATION: ALIENS". Odd, since the ALIEN series are all rated-R.

Anyway, yep - they made a cartoon but it was never released. Probably because a)It most likely sucked eggs, and b)I would have killed all involved for further destroying the holiest of holy movie series.

Click here for more images of the marketing, including t-shirts, toys, school supplies...

Also.... Mirror Universe? Does that mean they'll be sporting evil goatees? Or do I have my Trek knowledge mixed up here? Because seeing Evil Kirk again, especially a 75yr old Shatner doing Evil Kirk, would get me in the theater. hahaha

A Mayan mural has been uncovered that has not been seen for nearly two millennia (painted around 100BC). The mural covers the west wall of a room attached to a pyramid, and tells the Maya story of creation.Click here for more!

Sometimes I seriously, truly terrify myself with how much of a super dork I can be. This is such a time and I'm going to share it with all of you, probably regretting it immediately, especially from the expected onslaught from Jason. Ok, here it goes...

I was watching THE BLOOD OF HEROES again this weekend. If you haven't seen it, I recommend it - its a post-apocalyptic "Mad Max" kind of flick starring a very cool Rutger Hauer from 1989.Read more of that here.*Anyway, there were a few scenes where I thought, "Man, he looks like a 45 year old Obi-Wan Kenobi running around Tatooine!!! That'd be sweet!!"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------* If you rent Blood of Heroes (which I recommend), play the movie with subtitles on... the dvd transfer sucks and the audio is crap, so it helps at times to have the words on the screen when you need them. Also, the image quality is very dark sometimes... but still worth a viewing!! One of my favs.

Instead of redoing the figures (why bother, the other ones are great), the toys are going to focus on key moments in the Series. First up: re-creating Homer's torment after selling his soul for a donut!

Check out the pic (click to enlarge) - it will have "donut-eating action", so you'll be able to actually feed Homer donut after donut.

Check it out - Sideshow Collectibles has made a reproduction of the 1933 'T-Rex Battle' KING KONG armature.

"Stop-motion pioneer Willis O'Brien and sculptor Marcel Delgado animated Kong using two 18-inch armatures; metal skeletons covered with sponge rubber, latex rubber, and fur. The two puppets had distinguishably different heads, one used in the log bridge and T-rex battle sequences, and the other used for all of the New York scenes and the balance of the Skull Island scenes. These puppets were not only incredibly realistic and detailed artworks, but the metal framework inside the T-rex Battle Armature was durable enough to survive the grueling shooting schedule of the original film, and later for SON OF KONG."

Friday, December 09, 2005

It's from the Clone Wars animated series, Vol 2.It's one of, if not THE, coolest moment in the killer series!Saesee Tiin is onboard the Republic vessel in a grand space battle against the Droid Army of the Seperatists. The ship takes heavy fire and begins to fall apart. Solution? Find another ship! - in this case, the enemy's!!! Saesee, already in cool dark clone armor, dons a badass mandalorian-style helmet, ignites his saber and leads the clone army behind him out of their exploding ship, into space, and into the enemy's ship! FUK YEH!!!

When I was a kid, the only comic shop at the time was COLLECTOR'S CORNER, in MD. It had a lot of backissues and a cool feel to it. Sure, the owner's were kind of cold and weird, and the backissues were WAY overpriced - but it was still a cool shop for a 10yr old. *

Anyway, the high walls of CC were covered in all sorts of cool comic posters. There were always a handful I always dug and to this day, wish I had bought. So, if anyone out there ever sees one of these for sale, let me know!

Click image to enlarge

* MARVEL UNIVERSE - by Buscema??? - I have a small litho reprint of this, but I really want the BIG one.* WOLVERINE - by Frank Miller, from the kick ass mini-series. Remember when both Wolverine (Brown/Orange costume!!!) and Ninjas were cool?* SHEHULK - by Joe Jusko. Don't know why, but always dug this one. And no, its not a sexual thing, butthead.* ALIENS - from the Dark Horse Mini-Series (series 1). The great series was the first thing outside of the Movie itself. And so continued my ALIENS obsession.* PUNISHER - by Mike Zeck, from the miniseries! At 12 yrs old, this was one of the coolest images ever! I had this poster.... hmmm, maybe its up in my folks' attic. . .* ALIENS - from the movie. I love how the head and back tubes look in this pic.

again, if anyone sees any of these for sale, either buy em for me!! heh Or email me!!!!---------------------------------------------------------------------------* Around the age of 13, I found a much better place, BRAINSTORM COMICS in Frederick, MD - which is still around and I revisit when I visit my folks.